This week has been a rollercoaster as the 2020 election continues. Although a national day of action to send a message to #ProtectTheResults had been called for Wednesday, the organizers called off the mobilization while states continued to count their mail-in ballots. Instead, only a small number of protests took place in urban areas, with relatively small “rolling protests” in the nation’s capital.
On Tuesday, I published a piece that summarized findings from a follow-up survey with Resisters (those whom I originally surveyed in the streets protesting the Trump Administration and its policies starting after the inauguration in January 2017 and including the 3rd Women’s March in January 2019). The piece discusses how priorities have changed for these activists. Police brutality / Black Lives Matter is now the most common motivation with 76% of Resisters reporting it to be a motivation for their political work and activism.
In addition to these shifting motivations, the article notes that Resisters (who are predominately highly educated middle-aged White women) have continued to be very civically engaged. As of the end of October, 81% had reported voting in the past year (in primaries and/or early voting). These rates are much higher than the national average participation in a presidential election. Beyond voting, all indicators suggest that, no matter who wins the election once the final votes are tallied, we should continue to expect a lot of political participation from Resisters.
Dana R Fisher 